Black Theatre has had a long and empowering history, from beginning as just African Americans starring as “empty characters” to today’s African American actors/ actresses and even playwrights. In America, African Americans began starring in plays in the mid 1700's, most typically portrayed as very meaningless characters with no motivation and ultimately portrayed the race in the same way. About 50 years later, however, the first black theatre opened. Not long after this, anti-slavery plays began being produced by playwrights which caused much uprising in America as slavery was not just common but seen as “necessary” for the success of the country. Minstrelsy, another significant part of black theatre, means performing as a minstrel. In black theatre history this was a white person who painted their face to act as African American in a play. This type of portrayal led to many wrongly exaggerated and racist stereotypes of the race that can still be observed today. Some of these examples include nappy hair, laziness, incompetence, scratching of the head and privates, and a love for watermelon and fried chicken (Smith 41). As time went on, black theatre progressed drastically. The Harlem Renaissance was the boom of young African American men and women’s creativity, ultimately affecting the black theatre largely. Since this, the theatre has progressed and will hopefully continue to do so with support from the community and constant inspiration.